Kurt Warner of the Arizona Cardinals announced his retirement on Friday, but left the press conference early to take a nap (katchop)
Warner, 38, announced his retirement after a dozen years in the NFL – a league in which he rose from gridiron obscurity to become a potential Hall of Famer.
Warner took the lowly St. Louis Rams to the Super Bowl twice – winning the NFL’s championship spectacular in the 1999/2000 season.
He surprised again in leading Arizona to the Super Bowl a year ago, the Cardinals falling to Pittsburgh.
On January 10, Warnered guided the Cardinals to a 51-45 overtime victory over Green Bay in the first round of the playoffs but New Orleans then eliminated Arizona in the second round in a game that saw Warner absorb a punishing hit.
“I’m excited about what’s next,” said Warner, who departs with a year remaining on a two-year, 23-million-dollar contract. “Before, I was always excited about next season.”
Matt Cooke of the Pittsburgh Penguins likes to feast on a human heart during pre-game skates (katchop)
On Sunday, Flyers forward Arron Asham accused Penguins forward Matt Cooke of biting his hand during a scrum in the third period of Pittsburgh’s 2-1 victory. On Monday, Cooke flatly denied that accusation, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
“No,” Cooke told the paper when asked if he bit Asham. “There was a scrum, and I went in and grabbed [Flyers forward Scott] Hartnell and had a hold of him. All I knew was that someone was the third man in the pile, grabbing me, scratching my face, digging and clawing the third or fourth time. Then, I found out [who] later, [Asham] proceeded to rip my helmet off and punch me in the back of the head four or five times. And I have the welts to prove it.”
Tim Tebow and his mother will appear in a pro life commercial during the Super Bowl, sharing personal photos like this ultrasound from 1987 (katchop)
CBS said Tuesday it had received numerous e-mails — both critical and supportive — since a coalition of women’s groups began a protest campaign Monday against the ad, which the critics say will use Tebow and his mother to convey an anti-abortion message.
Funded by the conservative Christian group Focus on the Family, the 30-second ad is expected to recount the story of Pam Tebow’s pregnancy in 1987. After getting sick during a mission trip to the Philippines, she ignored a recommendation by doctors to abort her fifth child. She later gave birth to Tim, who won the 2007 Heisman Trophy and helped his Florida team win two BCS championships.
The New York Knicks are holding out hope that they can add LeBron James in the off-season, but their plan B might be a trade for Ricky Rubio.
Donnie Walsh prays every night before bed that LeBron James is wearing a New York Knicks uniform next season (katchop)
Knicks GM Donnie Walsh has made no bones about it — his sole job is to clear cap space for the summer 2010 free agent sweepstakes.
The Knicks’ ultimate goal is to have enough money to sign two players from the group of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Joe Johnson, among others.
As it turns out, Walsh also might have someone else on his radar.
After missing out on Spanish star Ricky Rubio in June’s draft, the Knicks may be after him again, the New York Post reports. The 19-year-old point guard is viewed by many as the perfect fit for coach Mike D’Antoni’s infamous “seven seconds or less” offense.
Chris Anderson of the Denver Nuggets used his time on injured reserve to sell ad space (katchop)
Denver’s Chris Andersen has limped through too much of the first half to count to remain the same bench catalyst as he was last season. He is an energy guy trying to power up without the usual snap in his legs, and good luck with that. He’s one of the top reserve big men in the league who has been absorbing a steady stream of hits while slam dancing for rebounds and blocks. There was one stretch of getting banged on the right knee, right around the tendinitis hot spot, five games in a row.
What Andersen is not, he insists, is content. That so wouldn’t be him, but the popular Birdman re-signed in Denver in the summer with a five-year deal that could pay $26 million. Then came the the slow start to 2009-10. It wasn’t a big jump to wonder if he had relaxed, the way the Nuggets as a whole had done in a poor early response to playing with a target as a defending Western Conference finalist.
The Los Angeles Angels traded Gary Matthews Jr and 21.5 million dollars to the New York Mets for Brian Stokes. Matthews is owed 23.5 million dollars over the next two seasons.
The Los Angeles Angels will pay the New York Mets 21.5 million to take Gary Matthews Jr., and Torri Hunter likes it (katchop)
Matthews is owed salaries of $11 million this year and $12 million in 2011, plus a $500,000 bonus for getting traded. The Mets will pay just $1 million per season, and the Angels will give New York money to cover the remainder of the salary plus the bonus, a person familiar with the details told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the financial details were not announced.
After the Saints beat him up on Sunday, Brett Favre immediately converted to Islam (katchop)
Favre wasn’t quite ready to make a decision on his future immediately following the loss, but he said he wouldn’t take long to make his plans known this time.
“Just wondering if I can hold up, especially after a day like today,” Favre said after throwing for 310 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. “Physically and mentally. That was pretty draining. I am going to go home, a couple of days and just talk it over with the family.”
The Indianapolis Colts beat the New York Jets 30-17.
Head coach Rex Ryan and quarterback Mark Sanchez of the New York Jets have joined Latin super group Menudo. (katchop)
Manning had an especially good time with Lowery, a surprise starter in place of Lito Sheppard. Lowery spent the game being torched by Colts receiver Pierre Garcon for 11 catches, 151 yards and a touchdown.
“I’d be curious to find out why Sheppard didn’t start,” Manning said. “He played good for them all season.”
People in the Jets locker room were curious as well. People like, well, Lito Sheppard.
“No idea,” Sheppard said when asked why he didn’t play more. “I feel like I’m a key part of this team, and I helped us get to this point. No answer [to that question] would satisfy me other than being out on the field, but I’m not a disgruntled player. I’m not going to make a scene. That’s just the way the game worked out.”
Jets coach Rex Ryan wasn’t terribly helpful, saying he went with Lowery over Sheppard “because we liked that matchup a little bit better.”
New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan and receivers coach Henry Ellard both love Mark Sanchez and Taco Bell (katchop)
After most games, Ryan, 47, and his wife, Michelle, eat heartily at a diner in New Jersey.
The coach’s favorite cuisine is Mexican — his assistants call it “Rexican” — and Ryan dined Friday night in San Diego at Café Coyote, whose menu features the adjective “large” before many of its south-of-the-border offerings.
During training camp last July, Ryan said that moving to Jersey had led him to pack on a few dozen extra pounds, noting, “There are so many Italian restaurants.”
Brett Favre of the Minnesota Vikings is not letting age catch up to him (katchop)
40somethings have much in common. Bones creak. Backs ache. We don’t sleep as well. Getting up off the floor after playing with a granddaughter, much less finding your feet after a smackdown by DeMarcus Ware, is no small endeavor.
Which makes this 2009 football season historically remarkable. As he takes the Minnesota Vikings into the NFC Championship Game on Sunday, Favre is playing football better than any 40something ever.
Better than Jerry Rice, who caught 92 passes at age 40 for the ’02 Raiders. Better than Warren Moon, who at age 41 threw 25 touchdown passes for the ’97 Seahawks. Better than George Blanda, who at age 43 produced a series of dramatic passes and kicks for the ’70 Raiders.
The New Orleans Saints are hoping that Drew Brees can lead them to the promised land.
If Drew Brees can lead the Saints to the Super Bowl, he will be bigger than God in New Orleans (katchop)
If possible, Brees probably would have worked 10,000 hours this week.
On a normal Tuesday day off during the regular season, he is famous for putting in full days of film study. Typically, the quarterbacks arrive at 8 a.m. and don’t leave until 2:30 p.m.
That work schedule has ratcheted up in the Saints’ second season. Saints quarterbacks worked full days Monday and Tuesday, both scheduled days off for players. He was on the same schedule last week.
Saints tight end Jeremy Shockey said Brees arrived before sunrise last week.
“I cannot beat him here, ” Shockey said. “He’s been here very early. I’ve been here every day at about 6 o’clock, and he’s beaten me. So, like I said earlier, I’ll be here at 3 a.m. and try to beat him. And he’ll still be here probably earlier than that.
Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts says he is not concerned that the New York Jets might try to distract him with Baby Ruth candy bars (katchop)
Manning’s postseason turnaround has been remarkable. Once branded as the guy who couldn’t win pivotal playoff games, Manning has thrived in pressure moments in the second half of his career. He lost four of his first six playoff games, including his first three. (He had a postseason-worst 31.2 passer rating in the Colts’ 41-0 wild-card drubbing to the Jets in the 2002 season.)
Manning, who is 8-8 all-time in the postseason, has won five of his last seven playoff games.
“I never bought into it,” Colts coach Jim Caldwell said of Manning’s reputation as a playoff choker early in his career. “I never saw it that way. All I saw was a guy that was continuing to get better and was a great performer. In some cases, we just needed to get him a little more help.”
Some folks are starting to get offended by New York Jets fans wearing sombreros and fake mustaches as a tribute to quarterback and Mexican-American Mark Sanchez.
Some Mexican-Americans are offended by New York Jets fans wearing goofy costumes... but not all of them (katchop)
I see the Jets licensed serape, and I know that’s something that USC helped to start, so I guess that’s cool. But the fake moustache? Not a good move, and one that doesn’t really celebrate Sanchez’s Mexican-American heritage. Also the painted straw hat, with a electrical tape “6″ on the side? Also poor form. Please rethink your choices. Mexican-America will thank you.
Stephon Marbury has signed a deal to play in China, where he hopes to generate sales for his Starbury athletic shoe business.
Stephon Marbury contemplates how many shoes he will sell with the Shanxi Zhongyu Brave Dragons in China (katchop)
Marbury has long talked about playing overseas, mostly to sell his Starbury brand sneakers and apparel, which went online through an Amazon.com agreement recently.
Marbury has not confirmed the deal through his Twitter account or The Post. Marbury did not respond to messages yesterday.
One week ago, Marbury told The Post he returned from a holiday in Puerto Rico to celebrate his wife’s birthday and made no mention of the option to play in China.
The Chinese club is ranked 15th of 17 teams. The boss, Wang Xingjiang said on the team Web site: “The aim of signing Marbury is to pay back our fans and try to win more games the rest of the season.”
Original Photos nationalbasketblogassociation, tripthai
Philip Rivers congratulates Nate Heimlich on changing his last name from Kaeding immediately after Sunday's game. Health care officials warned the kicker about the dangers of two different terms synonymous with choking (katchop)
I’ve been here seven seasons and the same thing happens every year,” said Chargers linebacker Stephen Cooper, shaking his head in a locker room filled with the team’s annual blank stares.
After some consideration, he did allow as to how this loss was different.
“This,” he said, “was the worst.”
He will certainly get no argument from Jets who celebrated by parading giddily around the field as if it were Times Square, or Chargers fans who shouted angrily at departing players, or LaDainian Tomlinson as he fought to keep his composure.
“To lose this game, I’m at a loss for words,” said the San Diego running back.
The Minnesota Vikings defeated the Dallas Cowboys, and some say they ran up the score in the process.
The Minnesota Vikings showed no mercy in slaughtering the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday (katchop)
Visanthe Shiancoe, the tight end who scored the extraneous fourth touchdown in Minnesota’s 34-3 win over Dallas on Sunday, put it best when asked about the claims that the Vikings ran up the score.
“OK, we apologize,” he said. “I’m sorry. Better?”
He could afford to be blithe about it, because the only way the Darwin-was-a-sissy NFL recognizes to keep a team from running up a score is for the team trying to run it up to lose an important player to injury. Sure, people such as Troy Aikman say the way is to stop the offending team with your defense, but if that were possible, you’d already have done it, and you wouldn’t be in this position.
Mark McGwire telling Bob Costas that steroids did not help him hit home runs (katchop)
When called before Congress and asked about his steroid use, McGwire again refused to tell the truth, this time trying to wiggle away with his repeated stone-walling “I’m not here to talk about the past.”
Now comes his blubbering, disingenuous mea culpa — orchestrated by sports consultant Ari Fleischer, who was George W. Bush’s press secretary — that was done just in time so he can return to baseball as the St. Louis Cardinals hitting coach. And once again it seems to skirt a lot of truth.
Although in a series of calculated interviews earlier this week he finally admitted using steroids and human growth hormone for a decade — including the 1998 season when he shattered Roger Maris’ home run record — McGwire claims he only took the stuff in “low dosages” and only to help him heal faster from injuries.
Gilbert Arenas of the Washington Wizards pleaded guilty to a gun charge yesterday, and is almost certainly heading to jail when he is sentenced on March 26th.
Gilbert Arenas of the Washington Wizards is headed to jail (katchop)
Arenas won’t know whether he must serve jail time until his March 26 sentencing and remains free until then. The government indicated it will not seek more than six months, although the judge can give Arenas anywhere from probation to the charge’s maximum term of five years. He will remain free until then.
In court, Arenas was barely audible, offering mostly terse answers such as “Yes, your honor” or “No, sir.” Those hands that have made so many shots and earned Arenas millions of dollars were shoved into the pockets of his gray, pinstriped suit. His demeanor stood in stark contrast to the gregarious, blog-writing, jersey-tossing persona that made the player known as “Agent Zero” a fan favorite. It also contrasted with the player who cracked jokes with reporters and on Twitter in the immediate aftermath of the Dec. 21 confrontation with a teammate that ended with guns being displayed.
Mark Sanchez of the New York Jets is loved by Jet fans and Mike Lupica .
Mark Sanchez has New York Jets fans feeling dirty (katchop)
The Jets really got Mark Sanchez to win them their first Super Bowl since Joe Namath, the last star kid they had at quarterback. And Saturday, Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, first pro playoff game of his life, Mark Sanchez made you believe he will do just that, beat everybody some day the way he beat the Bengals.
“One of these days, (Sanchez) is going to be the biggest guy we’ve got on this team,” Rex Ryan said when it was over, 24-14 Jets. “The best. And maybe that day is coming sooner rather than later.”
Then the big coach who backed it all up for another week, said this about his rookie quarterback: “We know this guy is gonna be a big-time guy.”
Some members of the New York Knicks, including a frightened Eddie Curry, contend that the Skirvin Hotel in Oklahoma City is haunted…. by a female ghost that wants sex.
Shocked members of the Oklahoma City Thunder look on as Nate Robinson of the New York Knicks is attacked by a nymphomaniac ghost (katchop)
For two days, several players had trouble sleeping because they were convinced that their downtown hotel is haunted.
“I definitely believe it,” Jared Jeffries said. “The place is haunted. It’s scary.”
Eddy Curry claims he slept for only two hours Sunday night because he couldn’t stop thinking about ghosts roaming the hotel.
Places not as good as Katchop that you still might go to anyway:
